


Unspoken Cues

by StarTravel



Series: Defiance Through Tenderness [18]
Category: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Genre: Cultural Differences, Fluff and Mush, Introspection, Making Out, Non-Explicit Sex, Unreliable Narrator
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-05
Updated: 2019-01-05
Packaged: 2019-10-05 02:07:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,861
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17316056
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarTravel/pseuds/StarTravel
Summary: Julian decides that there's not a better place than Risa to find out if someone wants to be with him or not, while Garak teases Julian until he can't hide the truth anymore.





	Unspoken Cues

 Julian lies on their bed, pretending that he’s reading _Persuasion_ even though he’s actually watching Garak out of the corner of his eye. He’s sure the other man’s aware that he’s being watched, but he gives no outward sign that he does, reading his own copy with careful focus and the occasional derisive snort. Julian takes a deep breath and leans over to drop his padd on the end table. Julian rolls his shoulders twice as he thinks about the fact that he’s lying on a bed in Risa with the man he loves after a … tumultuous three days, their bodies entwining in every way but the one people go to Risa for.

 And Julian’s not going to be a coward this time, he’s not going to let this moment pass him by like he has so many other times with Garak. Either they’ll have a lovely evening, or Julian will be embarrassed but sure of how Garak feels. He tells himself that means he wins either way and he almost believes it.

 Julian decides it might be time to take a more direct approach. He’d thought Garak would appreciate his attempts at subtlety, but so far he’s barely responded to any of his advances. Julian takes a few deep breaths, steeling himself and trying to put on his most seductive face. He stretches out on the bed, long legs sliding down the sheets gracefully as he rolls to his side. Julian brushes his hand Garak’s sleeve, stopping when he comes to the bare skin at his wrist, pressing down on one of the pressure points there with a grin. “We only have one more night in Risa, you know.  We should probably make use of that bath while we’re here.”

 “Is this your way of asking me to run it for you? My dear, that federation really has spoiled you.” Garak answers without looking up from his pad, running his index finger along the edge with a careful preciseness. Julian huffs and gives him a pointed look, even if Garak can’t see it at all.

  Julian lets out a low exhale and sits up, bending at the waist and pulling his legs up so his feet are in line with the edge of Garak’s knees on the mattress. Julian shifts until their bodies are aligned, leaning over so his elbows block Garak’s padd from his sight.

 “Garak. _Elim_.” Julian starts and immediately corrects himself, scrunching his face up for a moment awkwardly. If they’re going to be lovers, he should probably start trying to call Garak - Elim by his first name. At least in bed together. Julian reaches up and slides a hand to Garak’s cheek, pressing his thumb against the corner of his cool grey lips. Garak finally puts his Padd down on the side of the bed, twisting around to meet Julian’s gaze. Julian lets out another shuddering breath, moving his free hand to rest on Garak’s thigh carefully. “May - can - would it be all right if I kissed you?”

 “What’s with the sudden reticence? You certainly didn’t feel a need to ask two days ago.” Garak reminds him with a hint of a smirk, bringing up his right hand to lie over Julian’s on his cheek. He entwines their hands together and slowly pulls their arms down to rest against the sheets again. Julian looks up at him with hooded eyes, licking his lips as he forces himself to wait, just this once. He’s never been patient, but maybe Garak wants to make the first move out of some kind of Cardassian social custom - the older lover has to make the advance or the partner with longer hair or - well there were too many possibilities for Julian to analyse right now.

 Garak leans in slowly and Julian grins a little too widely, the nerves racing up his spine as he closes his eyes in anticipation. He feels smooth grey lips press against his forehead and Julian opens his eyes. Julian’s mouth is agape as he watches Garak pull back and pick up his padd with his free hand, expression carefully blank.

 “I - you know that - you’re infuriating.” Julian lets out a low groan as he shoots the other man a flat look. Garak merely raises an eye ridge in response, as though he has no idea what Julian means. Julian lets out an irritated huff, running his right hand over his face slowly and resisting the urge to let out anymore guttural sounds of annoyance. Instead he throws his right leg over Garak’s lap, bringing up the left to follow after a moment. Garak lowers his eye ridges and Julian half expects to be tossed to the floor below, so before that can happen he wraps his free arm around Garak’s neck and lightly squeezes the scales there until they start to flush a deeper grey.

 Garak narrows his gaze, an emotion Julian doesn’t quite recognize as he drops the padd again. Garak swallows a little, neck ridges bobbing as he comes to rest his free hand on Julian’s lower back. _Progress._ Garak leans in, that strange emotion mixing with wariness in his gaze as the grip on his back grows a hair tighter. “My dear, I have to admit this sudden passion is as delightful as it is suspicious.”

 “You can’t tell me you’ve never thought about this before.” Julian mutters as he meets Garak’s gaze with a determined one of his own, even as doubt curls low in his stomach. It’s not statistically likely in any sense - and god knows Julian’s run the hypotheticals through his head several dozen times - that Garak has no romantic _or_ sexual interest in him given their relationship over the past five years. It’s not a statistical impossibility, however. God knows how often Garak’s turned out to be the exception in his life. There’s a chance now will be no different, that the flirting has all been some kind of long con Julian hasn’t figured out.

 Garak meets his steady gaze with a piercing one of his own, lips pressing together in a thin line. Garak doesn’t speak for 27.86 seconds, eyes giving nothing away as he weighs his options. Julian stills as much as he can and wonders if he shouldn’t have started this conversation while he was in Garak’s lap. Finally Garak smiles slightly, just at the corner of his lips. “It’s possible the idea crossed my mind, but I have to admit I never thought it had crossed yours.”

 “Excuse me? It never crossed my mind? When I’ve been-” Julian resists the urge to talk with his hands, keeping one firmly planted on Garak’s neck ridges while the other squeezes his hand pointedly. The idea that Garak’s going to try and play it that way is - well Julian isn’t going to stand for that. Not when he spent nearly three years following Garak around like a puppy eager for any scraps the man would dole out, while Garak gave nothing away. Garak couldn’t have missed that. Julian swallows tightly, closing his eyes and then opening them again as he meets Garak’s amused smile with a low sigh. “I thought I made my feelings fairly obvious, before I mean - well, just before.”

 “You mean your little infatuation with me?” Garak laughs, warm and bright and just a little too airy for it to be his _real_ laugh, the one Julian’s come to know intimately over the last few years. Garak is, as always, hiding something. Julian’s just not sure _what_.

 Julian gives Garak an acerbic look and this time he does pull his hand away from Garak’s neck, feeling a surge of vindictiveness run through him when Garak’s right eye ridge twitches slightly. Apparently he isn’t the only one who’s enjoyed the close contact they’ve kept over the past few months. Still, Julian’s more annoyed than anything else, throwing his arm out in frustration and waving it through the air as though that somehow adds to his point. His voice somehow manages to come out withering and wounded at the same time. “My little infatuation?”

 “Yes, your silly crush because I was a dangerous spy.” Garak tuts as he slides his hand off of Julian’s back, instead holding up his hand with his palm flat and open to Julian. Garak shakes his head slowly, voice coming out with an almost admonishing bent. “You’d come to lunch and flutter your eyelashes at me and then go off to be rejected by Officer Dax or to take comfort in one of your holographic lovers. Or Felix, apparently.”

 “So you were jealous.” Julian smiles before he can stop himself, the skin around his eyes and lips creasing softly. Garak stares at the corner of his lips and says nothing, but Julian can see the flicker of surprise and then resigned defeat in his gaze. Julian’s smile fades a bit as his voice takes on an almost accusatory tone, even as his own gaze brightens with curiosity. There is still so much about Garak he doesn’t understand and romance is an area he’s barely gotten a chance to explore. “But it’s not as though you made a move either, Garak.”

 Garak raises an eye ridge and makes a noise deep in his throat as he lets go of Julian’s hand on the bed suddenly. He looks almost offended as he gives Julian an appraising look, lips curling in distaste. Julian wonders if it’s because he thinks Julian lies or because he knows he doesn’t, expression as guileless as the first day they met. Garak slowly reaches his hands up and clutches Julian’s shoulders, grip firm and a smile widening across his face and not quite reaching his suddenly heated gaze. “Didn’t I?”

 “Garak, touching my shoulders doesn’t count as a move.” Julian lets out a strangled laugh as he crosses his arms against his chest, not even trying to figure out if Garak’s telling the truth or having him on for once. The confession is there either way, a silent admittance that he’s wanted this for as long as Julian has and apparently thought he’d made that obvious. As though Garak’s capable of making _anything_ seem obvious. Julian chortles again as a bubble of delight and disbelief grows in his chest, arms squeezing tightly against his sides as he presses his face against Garak’s shoulder.

 “Maybe not for a human, my dear, but certainly for a Cardassian.” Garak tells him in a slightly affronted voice. One of his hands comes down to tentatively skim his hair down towards the nape of his neck. Julian leans into the touch before he can think better of it, the delight winning out over his disbelief and his frustration. His shoulders shake a little as his laughter dies down enough for him to pull his head back again, looking at Garak carefully. Garak’s gaze is at once affectionate and wary, hand not moving from Julian’s locks even as he shoots his hand a sharp look, as though it’s betrayed him.

 “I don’t know if you’ve noticed Garak, but I’m not Cardassian.” Julian reminds him in a voice that even he knows is too smug, licking his lips slowly as the delight blooms in his chest again. Julian reaches a hand back up to rest near, but not quite on, the ridges along Garak’s neck, just barely skimming the edge of each one until Garaks suck in a deep breath, eyes widening slightly.

 Garak flicks his gaze down to Julian’s lips again, not making a move to kiss him even as Julian leans up until there’s barely any distance between them. Garak’s hand slides down to rest more fully on the back of his neck, hands brushing across where his ridges would be if Julian were Cardassian. A rush of emotions flicker across Garak’s eyes, contrition and guilt and frustration, a hint of anger that’s gone as quickly as they came. They all fade away before Julian can guess at what any of them mean. Garak tilts his head to the right, expression empty. “A pity.”

 Julian swallows down the nerves building in his stomach, the persistent thrum in the back of his head that said this could end in disaster. It could, but isn’t that true for everything in his life? What matters now is the way his heart races and how Garak’s bright blue eyes, curious and fond, watch him. Julian lifts his hands up from his lap, reaching and grasping Garak’s shoulders and squeezing them softly, doing his best imitation of the other man’s wide smile and knowing gaze. “Here, now may I kiss you?”

 Garak lets out a scoff deep in his chest, sliding one of his own hands over Julian’s and lifting it up and off of his shoulder. He drops it to the side and Julian starts to slide backwards, a flush running up his neck as the utter humiliation starts to set in. But then Garak grabs his lower back again and pulls him flush against him. Julian watches, entranced as Garak lifts his other hand up to tilt Julian’s jaw down. Then those cold grey lips are pressing against his own with a need Julian quickly matches, letting out a small sigh as Garak’s tongue slides into his mouth.

 Julian notes idly that it’s forked, his hand coming up from the bed to grip Garak’s back and try to pull him closer, to pull him down on top of him. Garak follows, body spread out over him and the hand on his back sliding down. Garak breaks the kiss suddenly, voice measured despite his gasping. “I’m sorry, my dear.”

 “Garak, you might be a little out of practice, but it wasn’t _that_ bad.” Julian assures him with a wicked smile that only grows when Garak’s eyes widen at the insult, a few of his scales turning a darker grey again. Julian slides back on the bed, pulling his legs off of Garak’s laps and his hands back to his side. Julian swiftly tugs his neon lime tank top off with one hand and he doesn’t even pretend the sigh from Garak’s lips is for his body and not out of relief. He twists around on the bed so he’s pressed up against Garak again, enjoying the feel of the smooth, almost velvet-esque fabric against his bare skin. He reaches his hands up, nimble fingers quickly undoing the top button of his tunic.  “And I’m sure we’ll both do better if we practice some more.”

 For a moment Garak just stares at Julian with the same uncertain eyes from a few seconds ago, mouth and hands both eerily still. Then his gaze shifts to something sure and Julian suddenly finds himself flat on his back with Garak’s hands pressing against his hips. Julian playfully arches his hips so Garak can pull them off with more ease. A few seconds pass and Julian loses himself in the sensation of the silk sheets against his skin and the sound of velvet rustling as Garak takes off his armor piece by piece.

 Then Garak is on top of him, the scales along his thighs digging into Julian’s hip bones as he engulfs him, mouth sliding down the side of his jaw as though in prayer. Julian lets out unsteady gasps, his own hands exploring Garak’s back and seeking out each new scale and ridge, carefully marking which make Garak gasp and let out small moans that make Julian feel smug all over again. The nice part about being genetically enhanced is he won’t forget a single inch of the swaths of grey skin revealed to him, the strong lines of muscle and curve of Garak’s weight, the roughness of his scales against his hand.

  Garak pushes him down further into the sheets, hands sliding down his body with a care Julian’s not sure anyone’s shown him before. Julian forgets to memorize anything. His mind is lost to a blur of sensations, Garak’s cool body blending with the silk sheets and the sound of both their gasps filling the air, of the way his own body follows each push of Garak’s like they were made for each other, the velocity increasing between them until Julian swears he actually sees sparks.  

 Julian collapses on the bed, Garak falling on top of him with a low groan. They lie there for a few seconds, both of them breathing heavily. Julian nuzzles his face into the side of Garak’s neck, hands wrapping around his back and holding him close even as Garak shifts off of him and to the side, bodies no longer connected. Garak gazes at him with affection and something that almost feels like awe, bringing a hand up to run it down the side of Julian’s cheek. Julian’s arm is growing a bit numb where it’s currently trapped underneath Garak, sweat cooling against his skin and making him shiver in spite of himself, body feeling oddly sticky. It’s _marvelous_.  

 Julian grins as he suddenly looks up at Garak through his lashes, voice dropping an octave as he trails a hand down Garak’s chest. “You know, we still haven’t made use of that bathtub.”


End file.
